Michael George Haynes was born in
Kingston, Jamaica, on 3 March 1957, the only child of Caroline Smith, a housewife, and Lloyd Haynes, a painter and decorator who worked for the beverage company Desnoes & Geddes (Lloyd fathered 13 other children). Educated at Greenwich Farm High School, Kingston, he lived nearby with his paternal grandmother Gladys, a market trader. The impoverished Greenwich Farm district had long been a hotbed of musical activity, and during the late 1970s Michael Haynes began singing on local
sound systems. In 1978 he recorded his first singles, "The Woman I Love", "Super Star" and "True Born African", but they made little impact. Haynes then formed a vocal trio with friends from the neighbourhood, but when they auditioned for the producer
Yabby You, Jackson convinced him to ditch the other vocalists, renamed him Michael Prophet and shifted the focus of his lyrics to Rastafari philosophy and the harshness of ghetto life. Prophet's first release with Jackson, a remake of
The Heptones' "Fight It To The Top", was a strong seller, as were the originals "Praise You Jah Jah" and "Love and Unity". Their popularity led to an acclaimed debut album,
Serious Reasoning, released beyond Jamaica by
Island Records in 1979. In 1980 Prophet joined forces with the rising ghetto producer
Henry "Junjo" Lawes and released the autobiographical "Gunman", about an armed robbery that took place at the singer's home. A reggae adaptation of "Here Comes the Bride" was also a big hit. The widespread popularity of this material, and the Lawes-produced albums
Righteous are the Conqueror and
Michael Prophet, led to Prophet travelling frequently to London during the mid-1980s. He then brought out the self-produced albums
Love is an Earthly Thing and
Blood Stain, which were recorded in Jamaica and released in Britain on independent labels. By the time his rendition of Nancy Wilson’s "How Glad I Am" (issued as "Loving You") became an underground dance hall hit, Prophet had moved to London, though material for Jamaican producers such as
Winston Riley,
Niney the Observer,
King Tubby and
King Jammy continued to surface. In 1990, as dancehall morphed into the more up-tempo
bashment style, based on stripped-down electronic rhythms, Prophet scored significant hits recorded in London in combination with the
ragga rapper Daddy Freddy on a re-cut of Michael Scotland's "Hypocrites", and then with Ricky Tuffy on "Your Love and Get Ready". Though his output subsequently slowed, Prophet continued to release noteworthy material, including "Lead Us O Jah" in 2006, while a collaboration with the
Brixton-based Soothsayers band yielded the single "Love Fire" in 2008; other work was subsequently cut for Joe Ariwa, Vibronics, Reggae Roast, Tuff Scout, and Sip-A-Cup. In the live arena, Prophet performed at
Rototom Sunsplash, Europe's largest reggae festival, in 2011 and headlined the
Lambeth Country Show and later in both 2014 and 2017. He cites
Bob Andy as his main influence as a singer. He had his first Jamaican hit with a version of
The Heptones' "Fight It To The Top". His 1980 album
Serious Reasoning was released by
Island Records in the
United Kingdom, establishing his reputation internationally. After working with Yabby You, he also recorded for
Henry "Junjo" Lawes, adapting to the prevailing dancehall sound and having his biggest hit with "Gunman". During the first half of the 1980s he recorded for producers such as
Don Mais,
Al Campbell,
Sugar Minott,
Niney the Observer, and
Winston Riley, cementing his status as one of Jamaica's most popular singers. (14 September), Dub Club @Echoplex, Los Angeles (4 October), and at the Music Box, San Diego (6 October). Prophet died from a cardiac arrest in
Bedford, England, on 16 December 2017, aged 60. He had been battling lung cancer and was suffering from brain tumours. After his death, his family, with Thomas Evers of Rockers Artist Agency, released the highly rated live album
Live at plein les Watts. ==Discography==